ARNDELL Anglican College hosted the inaugural B Kinder Day on Friday, June 22, celebrating acts of kindness in memory of Billie Kinder - an ex student who was killed in a horse accident in 2016.
Billie’s mum, Danny Mayson-Kinder, said the purpose of the day was to empower the children to make a positive difference in the world.
“Billie's sister, Charlie, her dad, Dave and me spent the morning at Arndell Anglican School and took part in the day. We were joined by Dr Cathie Harrison an Education consultant and Councillor Sarah Richards,” said Ms Mayson-Kinder.
Each class discussed the meaning of kindness and got involved in activities they thought would help them ‘be kinder’ – from writing on Billie’s range of gift cards and giving them to a loved one, to planting sunflower seeds.
“Every child in the junior school wrote or drew a picture for someone they thought would benefit from the card that is not at the school (a family member, a friend outside school, a coach, or someone they think need the card),” Ms Mayson-Kinder said.
“The students then took the cards home to show their parents/carers and these will be posted from home adding to the ripple effect of kindness.”
Three other schools around Australia embraced the concept, Numerous people also got involved via social media, posting photos of themselves performing little acts of kindness, using the hashtags ‘flyhighbillie’ and ‘bkinder’.
“We had everything from people smiling at someone, to helping neighbours clear out sheds, people giving away free coffee vouchers, children making cookies for the the homeless to handing out sunflowers to random strangers,” said Ms Mayson-Kinder.
“Since then, I have a list of schools, companies and organisations wanting to take part next year. My goal is to spread an annual B Kinder Day around Australia and hopefully worldwide.”
Fly High Billie is a foundation set-up by Billie’s family following her death. The charity has donated funds to a number of causes including sick children, guide dogs and depression awareness. Donate at flyhighbillie.com.